What does indoctrinated mean?
Indoctrinated describes a person who has been taught or conditioned to accept particular beliefs, doctrines, or practices without meaningful critical examination. It can also be used as a verb: to indoctrinate someone is to instruct them in a prescribed ideology and discourage independent judgment. The word is especially common in discussions of politics, religion, education, and military or organisational training, where it usually has a critical tone. It implies more than ordinary persuasion because the influence is portrayed as comprehensive, one-sided, or resistant to questioning. By contrast, education is generally understood to promote understanding, while brainwashing more specifically suggests psychological coercion. The term can sometimes be used polemically, so writers generally need to provide evidence that a person has been subjected to one-sided or coercive instruction rather than merely persuaded.
Having been taught or persuaded to accept particular beliefs or a doctrine without critical examination.
"Many of the loyalists had been indoctrinated from childhood."
Usually negative or critical; it can describe ideological, religious, political, or institutional conditioning.
To teach someone a particular doctrine or influence them to accept it uncritically.
"The regime indoctrinated the population through schools and state media."
Often used to characterise sustained, one-sided instruction that discourages questioning or independent thought.
Indoctrination is less about teaching than about narrowing the range of questions a person is willing to ask.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does indoctrinated come from?
The word comes from indoctrinate, formed from the prefix in- and doctrine, meaning teaching or a body of beliefs. Doctrine ultimately derives from Latin doctrina, a teaching or lesson, from docere, “to teach.” The modern sense of influencing someone with an ideology developed in the 19th century, when indoctrination became a common term in political, religious, and educational debate.
Related word forms
How indoctrinated is actually used
The term generally carries a strongly critical connotation. It is especially common in political, ideological, religious, and educational contexts and implies that learning has been shaped in an uncritical or coercive way.
Easily confused with indoctrinated
Indoctrination emphasizes systematic teaching or instruction in a doctrine, whereas brainwashing usually suggests coercive psychological techniques intended to overcome a person's resistance.
Education ideally encourages understanding and independent judgment, while indoctrination presents a doctrine as beyond question and discourages critical evaluation.